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XU Outlasted by Wake in 2OT in Skip Prosser Classic
By
Jay Skeldon,
1/3/2010
Wake Forest and Xavier's play on Sunday night would have indeed made Coach Prosser proud. The two teams battled to a double overtime finish, as the Demon Deacons outlasted the X-Men, 96-92, in the Skip Prosser Classic at Joel Coliseum in Winston Salem. The game was the first of a 10 game home-and-home series, honoring the former coach of both schools. Jordan Crawford led all scorers with a career-high 30 points for Xavier, but it was not enough. XU drops to 8-5 on the season with the loss while Wake ups its record to 11-2.
After leading by four in the first half, the Demon Deacons would go on to tie the game a few minutes into the second half. With just over 13 minutes remaining, Wake Forest capped off a run to establish a 10 point lead, 59-49, with 13:29 left.
Xavier would not lay down quietly as it surged back to tie the game at 65 with 7:27 left. The next possession, Crawford flushed a dunk to give Xavier the lead. Xavier either held the lead or it was tied during the next several minutes until WF went ahead by two. Terrell Holloway laid one in with 0:58 to play to tie the game at 78 and send the game to overtime.
In the first overitme, Xavier led by three points with 35 ticks left on the clock and things were looking bright for the Muskies. But Wake's senior guard Ishmael Smith drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 85 with 26 seconds left to send the game to the second overtime.
Wake pieced together a 4-0 run in the second overtime on baskets from Smith and C.J. Harris. That pushed the Demon Deacons ahead 93-89 with 2:36 left. Although Xavier narrowed the margin to two points with three seconds left, Wake Forest sealed the game with two free throws by Harris.
Xavier struggled from the field, hitting just 37 percent from the field. The team also could not seem to find its stroke from long range. The Musketeers made just 5-of-23 three point field goals for 21.7 percent.
Crawford's 30 points came on 11-of-25 shooting. He also added four assists and four steals. Jamel McLean added 21 points and 10 rebounds in a very strong effort off the bench. Terrell Holloway chipped in 13 points while Mark Lyons added nine in the losing effort.
Wake Forest was led by Ishmael Smith who scored a team-high 28 points while adding a game-high nine assists. In addition, Al-Farouq Aminu tossed in 26 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.
Xavier will now focus on Atlantic 10 play as it opens up conference action on Thursday, January 7 against La Salle. The game is set for 7:00 p.m. in Philadelphia and will be broadcast on FSN Ohio.
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